<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Promise by Apassingstory</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23733046">Promise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apassingstory/pseuds/Apassingstory'>Apassingstory</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:55:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>331</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23733046</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apassingstory/pseuds/Apassingstory</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Potter/Severus Snape</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Promise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wind slipped and howled over the age rounded corners of Grimmauld place, thrusting thin fingers through invisible gaps in the stones, carrying the sharp scent of exhaust and the taste of oil that lingered on the tongue.</p><p>Harry sank into the worn chair in front of the small basement fireplace. A tiny flame licked up already charred logs, barely dispelling the chill and doing nothing for the throbbing pain of his ankle, only just healed.</p><p>His dark red Auror robes draped around his thin frame, rips and small scorch marks marring the thick fabric.</p><p>“I lost him,” he said quietly, his voice rough. “Again.”</p><p>Silence answered him, and he sighed. Firelight caught a glimmer from his left hand as his thumb slowly spun a gleaming gold ring. </p><p>“I think someone is tipping him off. I think someone might be helping him hide from me,” Harry continued despite the silence, a flash of something terrible twisting his features. </p><p>“I’ll find him though. I promise. I promised.” Harry’s voice tripped over the last, his fingers digging into the thin red material of his seat, his green eyes dull and glazed. </p><p>He sat until the fire flickered and died, until the cold seeped into him and brought to life the ghosts of agony that lingered in his bones. When he finally rose it was with a soft grunt of pain and a graceless stumble. </p><p>Harry let his hand rest for a moment on the faded green cloth of the chair that sat next to his, a small space on the back clear of dust, precisely the width of his hand.</p><p>“I promise,” he whispered.</p><p>The slow tread of his booted feet climbing the stairs echoed in the still room, low candles left to burn, just as they did every night.</p><p><br/>In the flickering light dried potion coated empty cauldrons as spiders strung gossamer webs over shelves of long expired elixirs and a single unfilled promise hung heavy in the air. </p><p>Outside, the wind howled.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>